No job cuts are expected to follow the £3 billion takeover of Yorkshire Water's parent company Kelda.

Yorkshire Water, which has its headquarters in Halifax Road, Buttershaw, Bradford, said that staff have been told that there are no plans for any redundancies or relocation and that it remained very much business as usual for the company.

As reported in the T&A yesterday, a consortium of firms, known as Saltaire Water, has won the backing of bosses to take control of Kelda, which owns Yorkshire Water among other businesses.

Saltaire Water is made up of a number of blue chip companies including banks HSBC and Citigroup and made its formal approach for the company last week.

Meetings are due to be held tomorrow and on Friday with staff to answer any questions or queries regarding the sale.

The business employs more than 2,000 people UK-wide, of which about 1,000 are based in Bradford.

The spokesman said: "We are dealing with long-term infrastructure investors. They are quality businesses who are looking at long-term ownership and are not about to upset the apple cart.

"What is absolutely critical is that this is the right sort of investors. They see Kelda and Yorkshire Water as a platform for future growth and new opportunities for people and for the company."

The spokesman added that it was too early to gauge its staff's reaction to the takeover.

Following the announcement of the sale of Kelda, its chief executive Kevin Whiteman said: "This offer is good for customers, employees and shareholders.

"The members of the consortium are highly credible institutions and, as investors, are taking a long-term perspective on our business with a view to continued delivery of excellent service levels to customers and opportunities for our employees."

The Kelda group was known as Yorkshire Water until the privatisation of water companies in 1989 when it was renamed. Industry regulators Ofwat will carry out a consultation over the sale, as is required by legislation. A spokesman for Ofwat said: "We will be checking that the sale is proper and that the buyers are fit and proper to run a water company."

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